By BYP @blackyouthproj 11:43 am December 29, 2014 Members of a California high school basketball team were barred from participating in a tournament because they continued to wear “I can’t breathe” T-shirts in solidarity with those standing up against police brutality. The students have planned a rally in response to the decision for Monday.

By BYP @blackyouthproj 11:56 am June 23, 2014 Baylor basketball star Isaiah Austin’s career was tragically cut short after he was diagnosed with a career-ending medical condition. Austin, 20, had been projected as a late first-round pick, and underwent a physical at the NBA combine where his EKG test revealed the abnormality.

By BYP @blackyouthproj 2:49 pm June 17, 2014 A 9-year-old girl who is super skilled in basketball is being scouted by the University of Miami Coral Gables. Jaden Newman, who is in the fourth grade, currently plays on her local high school’s varsity squad. She was sent an official recruitment letter and has already toured […]

By BYP @blackyouthproj 12:46 pm June 5, 2014 Texas A&M University-Commerce experienced a great loss after two members of its women’s basketball team died in a car accident on Loop 286 in Paris. Four members of the Lion’s were injured as they traveled to Paris High School to watch a summer league basketball game.

By BYP @blackyouthproj 11:00 am April 9, 2014 Derrick Gordon, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts, has become the first openly gay player in men’s Division I college basketball. A few days ago, Gordon came out to his family and teammates. He has now gone public with his sexuality.

By BYP @blackyouthproj 12:53 pm March 31, 2014 Earlier this year, we shared the story of 16-year-old Ebony Nettles-Bey, a teen battling cancer. Nettles-Bey never let the disease get the best of her, and she went on the be one of her high school basketball team’s leading scorers. This weekend, one of her wishes was […]

By Summer M. 12:05 pm March 24, 2014 Many of us have managed to emerge from the cocoon of four days of March Madness, only to arrive at work or school or wherever our Monday duties lead us with busted brackets and memories of incredibly close games and buzzer beaters. Many of the Goliath basketball […]

By BYP @blackyouthproj 1:30 pm February 5, 2014 Ebony Nettles-Bey has been playing basketball since the second grade. Her passion for the game led her team to its first-team all conference honors and a scholarship offer from UW-Milwaukee. Nettles-Bey had a promising career in the sport ahead of her when she moved to Verona, Wisconsin […]

By BYP @blackyouthproj 10:38 am January 10, 2014 An Auburn University Women’s basketball player faked her own kidnapping after succumbing to the pressures of being a college athlete. Sierra “Cece” Sims earned a full scholarship to the Alabama school 300 miles away from her home in Tennessee. Unfortunately the demands of being a student-athlete were difficult […]

When James Montgomery III joined Northwestern University’s Men’s Basketball team, he didn’t have the luxury of having his tuition paid for like other members of his team. But on Thursday, he got a wonderful surprise. Head Coach Chris Collins awarded the player a full ride for all of his hard work.

Follow Us

Sign up for email updates

Why take the pledge?

Far too many Black youth continue to be demonized, criminalized and murdered.

Enough is enough!

In response to this intensifying crisis, the Black Youth Project (BYP) has launched “The Pledge.”

With “The Pledge,” we are asking individuals and organizations to close ranks around black youth and make a commitment to take action and fight with black youth as they confront a relentless crisis. We at the BYP believe that each person can make a difference by doing something!

By taking The Pledge we not only articulate our concern about black youth, but symbolically unite our voices with others who will work to confront this crisis.

If we each take action, whether it is starting a group, signing a petition, or mentoring a young person in your neighborhood, then we all become a part of the solution.